BROOKYLN, N.Y. — While preparing for Sabbath services at the Brocheh of Our Fathers Synagogue, Rabbi Bernard Weinstein discovered an unusual group of rodents scurrying across the pulpit.

“I spotted five or six mice racing toward the Ark, where the Torah is kept,” said Weinstein. “They were all carrying shiny objects in their forepaws as they darted into the wall.”

Weinstein grabbed a flashlight from his office and shined it into the small hole in which the mice had fled.

“It was a treasure trove,” said Weinstein. “There were dozens of coins, lapel pins and even some jewelry. This explained where missing valuables had gone. I’d assumed that congregants had lost them elsewhere or they were accidentally collected by the custodian, since we never found any lost items.”

It turns out these enterprising pests had also stored large amounts of matzoh, challah and kosher cheese in the mouse lair.

“Obviously, those things had been taken from the kitchen,” Rabbi Weinstein said. Though determined to return the valuables to their owners, Weinstein couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in the hardworking mice.

“These rodents have done very well for themselves,” said Weinstein. “I’ve always heard that church mice are poor. The same obviously can’t be said for synagogue mice.”